New Classic Brownies

Name: New Classic Brownies
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 16 brownies
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 8 tablespoons unsalted butter; 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; 1 1/4 cups sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

Recipe from “Alice Medrich’s Cookies and Brownies”

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated Oct. 27, 2022

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(1,482)
Comments: Read comments

For a brownie almost as dark and dense as a chocolate truffle, there is Alice Medrich’s innovative method for New Classic Brownies: the pan goes directly from a high-heat oven to a bath of ice water, and the just-baked batter slumps, becoming concentrated and intense. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: Simple Pleasure, American Style

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:16 brownies

8tablespoons unsalted butter
4ounces unsweetened chocolate
1¼cups sugar
1teaspoon vanilla extract
¼teaspoon salt
2eggs
½cup all-purpose flour
⅔cup lightly toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square metal baking pan with foil. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir often, and remove from heat when a few lumps remain. Stir until smooth.
Step 2
Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir in eggs one at a time, followed by flour. Stir until very smooth, about 1 minute, until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl. Add nuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare a water bath: Pour ice water into a large roasting pan or kitchen sink to a depth of about 1 inch. Remove pan from oven and place in water bath, being careful not to splash water on brownies. Let cool completely, then lift out and cut into 1-inch squares or wrap in foil.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,482 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Abby7 years ago

I'm sure this is obvious to most bakers, but do not use a glass pan if you don't have a metal one. This tired mom did just that and CRACK, SHATTER! went my dish as soon as it hit the ice bath. Oops!

EN7 years ago

I've made this recipe for years. Substituting 1/4-1/2 cup of the sugar with brown sugar adds extra flavor, and I second sprinkling sea salt on top. A tablesspoon or so of bourbon or espresso is also great to add. Finally, the quality of the chocolate used makes a big difference!

Kathleen6 years ago

If you have unsweetened cocoa powder and corn oil (or some other tasteless oil) in the house, you have unsweetened (i.e. baking) chocolate. The conversion is 3 tablespoons cocoa + 1 tablespoon oil = one square of baking chocolate. Been using it for almost 40 years and it works like a charm. I use Dutch process.

Lynn Van Amburgh3 months ago

These brownies were delicious! I followed the recipe to a T, I worried a little bit because the batter was so thick but they turned out great. For the foil I used Reynolds Wrap Nonstick foil and the brownies came right out of the foil without sticking.

Jody4 months ago

I followed the recipe to a 'T' and my husband and I thought these were excellent! Nut of choice was pecans. Not overly sweet in my opinion - just normal, brownie sweet. The texture was indeed this rich, fudgy texture. So good!

Lori4 months ago

Would not make this again! I decreased the sugar to 3/4 cup and it was still overly sweet. There are so many better brownie recipes out there.

Private comments are only visible to you.